The God of Wealth starts with doing whatever you want

The aftershocks of the broken negotiations, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, spread outwards in concentric circles from Shenzhen Bay.

On the way back in the black Maybach, Zhong Yanyan looked at the neon lights rushing past the window and couldn't help but speak again.

"Actually, the terms offered by Nvidia are not bad. Five billion US dollars in cash, plus cross-licensing of technology, can save us at least three years of catching up time."

Xu Yun leaned back in the leather seat, his fingers tapping silently on his knees.

"Three years?"

He smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile, and said, "Yan Yan, why do you think Huang Renxun was willing to fly to Shenzhen to see me today?"

"Because our technological advantages have already made Nvidia feel threatened."

Without hesitation, Zhong Yanyan replied, "Their stock price has fallen by 40%, and Wall Street analysts have listed our 'Loongson Matrix Algorithm' as the primary risk factor. They need to stop the bleeding."

"Yes, but not entirely."

Xu Yun turned his head to the side, and the light and shadow flowing outside the car window cut out lines of light and shadow on his face.

"The real reason he came is that he still believes he holds the initiative at the poker table."

"What do you mean?"

"Five billion dollars, technology sharing, production capacity cooperation—these terms sound very generous, don't they?"

Xu Yun's voice was as calm as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"But think about the core: what they want is a 'non-exclusive license'."

In other words, we can license the technology to them, and we can also license it to AMD, Intel, and even Samsung.

And even after acquiring the technology, they can still continue to serve all their global clients, including those countries and companies that impose technology blockades on us.

Zhong Yanyan's pupils contracted slightly.

"This is a typical case of 'using cooperation as a pretext for dilution'."

Xu Yun continued, "Once technology diffusion becomes a common standard shared by multiple parties, our leading advantage will be wiped out by the scale effect of the industrial chain within two to three years."

By then, Nvidia will still be the Nvidia at the top of the value chain, but what about us?

We will only become another short-lived technology provider, like countless startups that once possessed disruptive technology but were ultimately swallowed up by giants.

A brief silence fell over the car, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioning vents.

“So you never intended to reach an agreement from the beginning,” Zhong Yanyan said softly.

"No, I gave them a chance."

Xu Yun corrected them, saying, "I gave them two options: either completely align themselves with us and become our 'chief manufacturing partner' in the field of artificial intelligence chips, sharing technology, binding production capacity, and jointly developing the next generation of standards."

"Either continue with the old ways, and you'll be eliminated."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the deep night outside the window.

"Huang Renxun chose the latter."

It's not because he's not smart; quite the opposite, it's because he's too smart.

So clever that they believe all rules are negotiable and all bottom lines can be tested.

Throughout his career, he has seen too many promising young tech talents who start out aggressive but eventually compromise under the pressure of capital and the market.

He thought I would be one of them.

Zhong Yanyan took a deep breath and asked, "So what's next? Nvidia won't just sit idly by."

"of course not."

Xu Yun's eyes sharpened, and he said, "They will do three things next."

First, launch a media offensive to portray today's negotiations as the arrogant delusion of a Chinese nouveau riche, and cultivate an image of us as "disregarding business rules" in the international arena.

Second, they are accelerating their lobbying efforts with the US government to tighten export controls on our technology, attempting to strangle us in our supply chain.

Third, they will secretly contact our potential partners in Europe and Southeast Asia, poaching them with more favorable terms.

"We need to prepare in advance."

"We are already responding."

Xu Yun took out a thin, card-like encrypted communicator from the inside pocket of his suit, and the screen lit up with a faint blue light.

"look."

Three encrypted briefings were scrolling across the screen.

The first one comes from Isabella.

The editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal's Asia-Pacific edition has received the article, which will be published on the front page tomorrow morning as "The Dangers of Technological Nationalism: How China's New Elites Threaten the Global Chip Ecosystem." The article's stance is neutral to slightly negative.

The "Echo" program has been launched as planned, with six media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, and CNBC, publishing interviews with our technical experts simultaneously. The core argument is that open collaboration should not come at the expense of technological sovereignty.

The second one comes from Liu Zhenwu.

"Abnormal bank account transaction records have been obtained from the families of three senior officials of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, two of whom had indirect financial dealings with Nvidia lobbying firms."

The materials are available to investigative journalists at The Washington Post at any time.

Additionally, aides to three key members of Congress on Capitol Hill have accepted an invitation from our think tank to visit China next month to attend a 'Symposium on Artificial Intelligence Governance,' which includes a visit to the Shenzhen Technology Park.

The third one comes from Lin Wanzhou.

"Of the seven potential partners in Europe, five have already signed exclusive confidentiality agreements."

The remaining two companies, Infineon of Germany and NXP of the Netherlands, have internal disagreements among their executives, with some directors favoring Nvidia's joint investment proposal.

The recommended strategy is to activate Plan B: acquire 5% stakes in each of the two companies at a 20% premium through a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, thereby gaining influence over their boards of directors.

After reading the briefing, Zhong Yanyan was speechless for a long time.

"You... you foresaw all the possibilities?" Her voice was a little dry.

"It's not a prediction, it's a deduction."

Xu Yun turned off the screen and laughed, "When you stand at a high enough position, you will find that business competition and military confrontation are essentially the same."

Intelligence gathering first, resource allocation, multi-pronged strategy, then waiting for the opponent to make the wrong decision under pressure.

He looked at Zhong Yanyan, his gaze softening slightly.

"Of course, I didn't do all this work by myself."

Isabella's intelligence analysis team, Zhenwu's resource mobilization capabilities, and Wanzhou's capital operation skills.

Without them, even the most ingenious chess game cannot be played.

As the car entered the Donghu Villa District, the gardens were tranquil and peaceful in the night.

"So what should we do now?" Zhong Yanyan asked.

"sleep."

Xu Yun pushed open the car door, and the night breeze carrying the moisture from the lake rushed towards him. He smiled and said, "Tomorrow morning, after the first wave of public opinion offensive begins, we will make our move."

A chess player needs the patience of a chess player, especially when the opponent thinks they still have the upper hand.

He took two steps, then turned back and added.

"By the way, notify the R&D center that the 'Loongson Matrix 2.0' development toolkit, originally scheduled for release next month, will be released this Friday."

We need to give the market an irresistible reason before they start predicting a downturn.

2:00 AM, Crescent Island underground command center.

Isabella Chen sat in front of a console made up of three curved screens, her fingertips flying across the virtual keyboard.

The other end of the quantum-encrypted communication line connects to multiple information nodes in seven time zones.

"The Reuters article has passed its final review and the title has been changed to 'The Cost and Opportunity of Technological Autonomy: China's New Breakthrough in AI Chips Sparks Reflections on Global Supply Chain Restructuring.'"

The voice of the London branch manager came through the headset.

"The three analysts we invited, two from Goldman Sachs and one from McKinsey, all agreed to have their views cited in the report."

The risk of a single company dominating key technologies is higher than that of technological multipolarity.

"very good."

Isabella stared at the scrolling public opinion monitoring data on the screen and asked, "What about Bloomberg?"

"Wait a moment... Connecting to New York."

After a brief static noise, another sound cut in.

“Bloomberg’s technology editors were hesitant after receiving ‘exclusive background material’ from Nvidia that hinted that our technology might have military ties.”

We need stronger rebuttal material.

Isabella gave a cold laugh.

"Send them a summary of the 'Next-Generation Battlefield AI Chip' R&D contract that Nvidia signed with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) last year, along with screenshots of the contract amount and email exchanges between the project leaders."

Remember to add the 'Confidentiality Level: Top Secret' watermark, but make it look like it was accidentally not completely removed.

“Understood. In this way, if they report on the topic of ‘military background,’ they must mention both sides; otherwise, it would be a clear case of selective inaccuracy.”

"Exactly."

Isabella switched to another channel and asked, "'Athena' station, what's going on in Cyprus?"

Natasha Ivanova's voice came through clearly, with the cool quality characteristic of Eastern European accents.

Three hours ago, Nvidia’s Senior Vice President of Global Business Development met with NXP’s CTO at a private club in Nicosia.

The content of the conversation has been obtained: Nvidia proposed a joint $30 billion acquisition of NXP's automotive chip division, on the condition that NXP terminate its initial cooperation agreement with us.

"NXP's reaction?"

"The CTO himself is inclined to accept it. He believes that the automotive chip market is booming and that partnering with Nvidia will bring more orders from car companies."

But CEOs and board chairmen are more cautious, worried that over-reliance on American companies could leave them vulnerable to fluctuations in US-China relations.

Natasha paused for a moment, then said, "Another interesting piece of information is that after the meeting, the vice president received a phone call in which he mentioned that 'our friends on Capitol Hill have agreed to expedite the review of Bill S.487.'"

Isabella quickly retrieved the database. "S.487... Amendments to the Critical and Emerging Technologies Protection Act 2024."

The original bill primarily restricted exports to China in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology. The draft amendment adds a clause on 'advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and design tools.'

"Do you need me to investigate further?"

"No need, Zhenwu is already following up on this line."

Isabella glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen and said, "Your focus now is to ensure that the NXP board of directors doesn't become one-sided."

If necessary, the 'Dark Eye's' liaison in Amsterdam can arrange for a few independent directors to 'accidentally' see some materials.

This is a compilation of cases in which Nvidia has forced seven European semiconductor startups into bankruptcy through patent litigation over the past five years.

"clear."

The other party replied, "Also, Bergman sent word from Berlin that Nvidia is in contact with a small design company in Munich."

This company holds several key patents related to 3D stacked packaging, and Bergman inquired whether intervention was necessary.

Isabella thought for a few seconds.

"Monitor first, but don't alert them."

We'll only make our move if the other party actually starts substantive negotiations.

Sometimes, it's more effective to make the opponent pay the negotiation costs first, and then strike at their core.

After ending all the calls, Isabella leaned back in her chair and rubbed her aching temples.

A holographic projection above the control panel outlines a global intelligence situation map.

Dozens of light strips flow between different city nodes, with red representing hostile actions, blue representing friendly responses, and yellow representing third parties to be observed.

The whole scene is like a multi-dimensional chess game in progress, with each flash of light corresponding to a meeting, a phone call, or a document in the real world.

Are you tired?

Xu Yun's voice suddenly came from behind.

Isabella turned around abruptly and found that he was already standing at the entrance of the command center, holding two cups of coffee.

"Why are you here? Weren't you in Jiangcheng?" Isabella took the coffee, the warmth passing through the cup to her palm.

"The advantage of private jets is that you can fly wherever you want."

Xu Yun sat down at the control panel next to her, glanced at the situation map, and asked, "How is the battle going?"

"The first phase is proceeding as planned."

In the battle of public opinion, we have a 60% advantage; in the battle of capital, it's a 50/50 split; and in the battle of political lobbying…

Isabella switched to an interface covered in American flags and laughed, "We're behind at the moment, but once Liu Zhenwu releases the materials he's prepared, we should be able to turn the tide."

Xu Yun nodded without speaking, simply watching the flowing river of data on the screen.

"You don't seem nervous at all."

Isabella observed his profile and said, "The opponent is Nvidia, the world's most valuable semiconductor company, backed by the entire Silicon Valley and the American political and business complex."

Is being nervous helpful?

Xu Yun countered with a question, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

“From the moment we decided to take this path, we were destined to clash head-on with these giants.”

The only difference is whether it's earlier or later, a proactive choice or a reactive response.

He took a sip of coffee and continued, "Moreover, don't you think Huang Renxun's performance today exposed their biggest weakness?"

"arrogant?"

“What’s more deadly than arrogance is path dependence.”

Xu Yun put down his cup and said, "Nvidia's success over the past twenty years has been built on three foundations."

First, it capitalized on the trend of GPUs shifting from graphics processing to general-purpose computing.

Secondly, it has built the CUDA ecosystem and locked in developers.

Third, we maintain technological leadership through continuous high investment in research and development.

This model has been successful for so long that they thought it was the only path to success, so long that they couldn't understand it anymore.

They even refuse to understand the possibility of another set of rules.

Isabella said thoughtfully, "Our rules."

"Correct."

Xu Yun stood up and walked to the huge curved floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window is the artificial harbor of Crescent Island, where several cargo ships are loading and unloading containers in the night, and the lights on the tower cranes trace golden trails on the dark sea.

"Huang Renxun wants to play a business game, using capital, markets, and patents to compete."

That's not wrong, it's just that the perspective is too narrow.

Xu Yun's figure appeared somewhat blurry in the reflection of the glass as he laughed and said, "We're going to play a game of the times."

Artificial intelligence chips are not just commodities; they are the infrastructure for the next industrial revolution and a strategic fulcrum for national power competition in the next decade.

In a game of this scale, business rules are merely the surface; at the core lie technological routes, industrial ecosystems, and the clash of national wills.

He turned around, his eyes unusually bright in the cold light of the command center.

"So why should I be nervous? They're the ones who should be nervous."

Because they suddenly discovered that the battlefield rules they were familiar with were becoming ineffective, and that we were there to write the new rules.

Isabella stared at him, then suddenly smiled.

"You know what? Sometimes the way you talk is a lot like those old-fashioned politicians."

Not a politician, but a true statesman, someone who believes they are making history.

"History is never created by one person alone."

Xu Yun walked back to the control panel, tapped the holographic projection lightly with his finger, and the situation map instantly switched to the global semiconductor industry chain distribution.

"Look, TSMC from Taiwan, Samsung from South Korea, ASML from the Netherlands, Tokyo Electron from Japan, Applied Materials from the United States... the entire industry chain is like a complex network, with each node interdependent."

Nvidia is just one node in this network; while important, it is not irreplaceable.

His fingers traced across the dots of light.

"What we are doing is weaving another net outside of this one."

With our technical standards, our manufacturing partners, and our application ecosystem.

The two networks will intertwine at certain points and compete in certain areas, eventually reaching a dynamic equilibrium.

Just like Windows and Linux in the internet era, and iOS and Android in the mobile era.

"You want to be the one who defines the new ecosystem."

"It's not me, it's us."

Xu Yun corrected, "Isabella, you, Zhenwu, Wanzhou, Yanyan, and everyone on Crescent Island and 'Dark Eye,' as well as the thousands of engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors who will join this network in the future."

We are defining something together.

In a world where technology is increasingly becoming a core source of power, is it possible for newcomers to not only catch up, but surpass?

Is it not just about integrating into the existing system, but about creating a new one?

The command center fell silent. Only the low hum of the server clusters could be heard, like the heartbeat of some enormous creature.

After a long while, Isabella asked softly.

"What if we fail? What if Nvidia, the US government, and the entire Western world unite to suppress us?"

Xu Yun looked at her and suddenly smiled, a smile that held an almost naive certainty.

"That proves that the path we're taking isn't new enough, or disruptive enough."

He said, "Truly disruptive technologies cannot be suppressed."

Just as you can't use traffic laws from the horse-drawn carriage era to restrict cars, you can't use spectrum allocation from the analog signal era to stifle the internet.

When the tide of change is large enough, all obstacles only serve as proof of its power.

He walked to the console and retrieved the final test data from the "Loongson Matrix 2.0" development toolkit.

On the screen, lines of code flowed like a waterfall, and the curves on the performance metric charts climbed upwards at an almost vertical angle.

"After its release on Friday, 100,000 developers worldwide will download the toolkit immediately."

They will find that training AI models using our platform is 40% more efficient and 30% less energy-consuming than NVIDIA's CUDA, and it's completely open source and license-free.

Xu Yun's voice was very soft, yet it sounded like she was stating a future that had already happened.

"By then, Huang Renxun will understand that what he lost at the negotiating table today was not just a business opportunity, but an era."

As Isabella gazed at Xu Yun's profile, she suddenly recalled a line of ancient Chinese poetry she had read long ago:
"The monkeys on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the light boat has passed ten thousand mountains."

Those doubts, attacks, and obstructions from our opponents are nothing more than the cries of monkeys in the canyon.

The boat they were on had already sailed to a wider river, to a distant place where the cries of monkeys could not reach.

She picked up the slightly cooled coffee and took a small sip.

Bitter, but with a sweet aftertaste.

Just like this road.

But in reality, Xu Yun's true feelings at that moment were not what he said.

This is all a facade, a persona he created for himself.

Deep down, he wanted to rely on the system and, while he was still young, try to reach a height that no one else could reach.

If you're going to be a super-rich person, be the most awesome super-rich person in the world! (End of Chapter)